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Hi Brendan. I strolled down for a few hours this morning. It was a little bit wet which was annoying because I’d just bought a new pair of suede loafers that I was looking forward to breaking in. I think they look nice with white slacks which are cuffed at the bottom. I caught up with a Goody almost straight away. I noticed he was wearing the same polo shirt as he wore on the flight up. I asked if he only brought the one shirt on the trip, he just got up and walked away. He’s a bit of a jokester like that. The team split into two groups in preparation for a non-contact match simulation. Apparently Tyson forgot the bibs so they were deciding on how to differentiate between the teams, I yelled out that the team with Petracca should just go shirtless. After the game the players headed inside to the gym. I asked who could bench press the most, apparently Pedo and Frost are tied. Their max bench is about my weight so I said I’d be happy to have a bit of a competition between the two and see who could bench me. Unfortunately it was a closed door session so I had to leave.

The QLD fans will be chuffed with that news.

....and get rid of umpires while your at it.

Please don’t, that kid gives me the shits.

Hope a brick didn’t fall on his head.

Big feature on the ABC tonight on 7.30 report about MFC womens players and what they have given up to play for the club Here is at least a write up: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-02-01/aflw-women-career-injury/9380274 and the video link: http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/meet-the-aflw-players-who-sacrificed-their-day/9385274

They deliberately block space that players could be leading into.They cheat.Get 'em orf!!

Sure thats not some dodgy mince taco meat?

Fark! Can we just shut up about the camp thing? Kid gets knocked out in a match sim, hope he is OK. Its a tough game, and I want the Demons to play it tough.

Bloody camps. It's outrageous. They shouldn't have them. Someone needs to ring the AFLPA. Just stick to Goschs. This would never have happened if they'd just stick to training there.

Really? Bugger, she was my favorite. I love footy season. Go girls. Lets bring home a flag, and give the guys something to chase.

Oh ffs...

Runners no longer required at AFL level. The interchange with 90 rotations is sufficient to get the messages out there i.e about 1 rotation occurs each minute....more than sufficient. Mike up the water boys to shout at the players from behind the boundary if needed. If you have ever had to be a runner, it is a frightening job trying to get to a player during play, especially as they get beyond the junior ranks. The ball moves so quickly and you cannot get "in the way". You can't enter the 50 while either side is kicking for goal. Chasing fit young players to get a message to them is bad enough. We already see them scrambling to "get out of the way" at the AFL level. And the Maxwell situation shows how they can exploit the placements on the field. Get rid of them for the big boys.

They're doing it! Patience. Step 1. make the game un-umpireable. Step 2. Wait. Soon no-one will want to be an umpire. (On the basis of no evidence whatsoever, I have the funny feeling that Hocking will address this too.)

http://www.news.com.au/sport/breaking-news/afl-to-investigate-gws-runner-nick-maxwell-over-time-spent-on-the-field/news-story/eb028ceeb4c62840f4fdc95ca21528df Run on and deliver a quick message then get off. Employ the same or similar tactics as Maxwell and others have and the team should be penalised.

Oh lighten up mate it is only 2nd. February.

White shorts for away teams -too simple.

Really showing we care lots about this...

33-43 I hope

With Tommy Mc's aerobic capacity, don't you think it would be a waste just having him lead from the goal square like an old fashioned full fwd, it is 2018 after all You will find Hogan and Tommy Mc rotating, which hopefully will be a mare to defend

Now I'm going to have to do the same The punters lament indeed D77! I will be more circumspect next week!

Nice selection Macca. Both horses resuming with "light" weights. I'll do the same, I've even placed a small amount on a win only multi with the 4 horses you originally short listed for your "Best" at Rosehill. I'd rather have a couple of dollars on a multi that loses rather than feeling the "Punters lament" if it comes through and not having a dollar on it. Just testing the waters on that one since you have presented it to us. Will do the each way on those 4 as well but the markets don't have place odds currently for a couple of the runners. Also, Goodfella has been scratched, only 7 going around in the Expressway.

I've made up my mind as well ... Best Bet - Rosehill Race 9 No.8 Don't Give A Damn I'm probably going to multi up our combination 'Each Way' and then have a bit on the combo to win only in a separate bet. If we only end up with 3 best bets that's ok - we all have the option of adding on to the combo if we so wish. I like your choice @Demon77 ... as you said, 'Eurack' has put in 3 outstanding efforts for it's 3 runs.

I've looked at the Caulfield meeting tonight and decided my best bet is at that meeting. Race 5 No. 12 - Eurack. Odds $3.40 3 runs for 3 wins. All runs so far have been in winter and on soft tracks. I remember watching those runs and being impressed. First start at Bendigo Maiden 1100m Heavy8 drew barrier 9 of 10 and won by 3.5L. (1:05:96) Second start at Sandown BM 64 1000m Soft6 drew 15 of 15 and won by 4.25L. (0:58:77) Third start Sandown 1000m BM 70 Soft5 barrier 9 of 11 and won by 0.2L. (0:57:49) Barrier 7 shouldn't be a concern as she has sufficient speed to get in the first 3 or 4. She progressed through the grades nicely and this will be her toughest test to date. Her fitness levels might not be full yet but if you look at her times they are nothing but impressive, keep in mind the soft and heavy tracks. Her latest time is quicker than some of the 1000m races her rivals for Saturdays race have been competing in on good tracks. The deciding factor to put her as my "Best" was the lightning 33.15 she clicked for the last 600m in her last run. She has a lethal letdown. Of her upcoming rivals No.3 Hay Bale ran a quicker 32.34 last 600m in a win back in July but that was on a Good3. No.5 Highland Beat ran a slower 33.39 on a Good3 also in a win back in July. Even comparing it to the last 600m(33.16) that Snitty Kitty (I think she wins the WJ Adams by the way) ran in her G2 Caulfield Sprint win back in the spring on a Good3 makes me think she might be above average by the time she fully develops. Looking forward to your "Best" fellas.

Gee it adds up doesn't it? Had a look at Caulfield tonight and there's a few there that might stand out. But I'm more interested in others thoughts with that meeting. 'Don't Give A Damn' was very impressive last time it ran and ran a slick time over the 1400m (1:21.86) But the Trainer (Danny Williams) says the horse is looking for a mile (it could be set for a Doncaster Mile run) I do like it over the 1300m this time around though (against this lot) - and it has drawn well for a horse that will be ridden forward. 'Bye See' is probably my 2nd pick now over 'Kopi Lewak'. I'll probably put my best bet in tomorrow night.

It's amazing how sometimes a small field makes a race more intriguing, add Ace High first-up and it becomes even more so. Should be a beauty. Spot on with the above Macca, we know some horses go well first-up whilst others just go around for a "run" to begin a prep. Planning is key to these big carnivals, needless to say there's a lot of prize money to be won. Just out of curiosity I visited the Tab app, the 4 horses you narrowed it down to for your best bet..... Race 1 No.2 ... From Within Race 5 No.12 ... Kopi Luwak Race 6 No.9 ..... Bye See Race 9 No.8 ..... Don't Give a Damn combined price for an all up multi (win) $124.67

7. Western Bulldogs – One elite player (Jason Johannisen). Note: The Dogs have nine above average players and 12 average players. Marcus Bontempelli is only in the average category. Champion Data, ladies and gentlemen.

Surely this one would've appeased the masses.

Particularly if the camera has a confirmation bias lens attached......

They also would have lost to us had we not been crucified by injuries.

From burgos day 2 diary: Simon Goodwin watches over training with eye-eagle intent, and gives strong reinforcement – positively and in an educational manner. “Great power,” he says with genuine excitement of Oscar McDonald’s play.

Man that video is just typical of what happens to oscar Mc in every one-on-one contest in the backline... zzz outbodied and outpositioned! All the talk about him getting bigger.. not sure how much that is helping at the moment

Fact is in 2017 we were: 18th in defensive one on ones 18th in opposition scoring from 50m entries. We were also monstered by guys like Brown, Hawkins, Daniher etc. Our defence is very vulnerable. The club knows this and Lever is clearly there to help us improve on this. There will be a multitude of strategies to deal with improving our defence including improving individual performances. Hibberd and jetta are not infallible but are AA quality. So is Lever. Frost and OMAC are the clear weak links that oppositions try to exploit. How the coaching staff manage/improve these two will go a long way to to ensuring our game style is fit for finals.

http://melbournefc.com.au/news/2018-02-01/six-players-to-debut-for-demons Melbourne AFLW team: round one B: Laura Duryea, Meg Downie, Bianca Jakobsson HB: Katherine Smith, Jasmine Grierson, Catherine Phillips C: Elise O’Dea HF: Richelle Cranston, Lily Mithen, Shelley Scott F: Tegan Cunningham, Daisy Pearce, Kate Hore Foll: Erin Hoare, Karen Paxman, Melissa Hickey I/C: Ashleigh Guest, Lauren Pearce, Maddy Guerin, Emma Humphries, Aliesha Newman Emg: Harriet Cordner, Alyssa Mifsud New: Jakobsson (Carlton), Cunningham (basketball), Guerin (Fitzroy/Northern Knights), Guest (GWS Giants), Hoare (Geelong), Hore (St Kilda Sharks) Not playing: Ainslie Kemp, Sarah Lampard, Brooke Patterson, Maddie Shevlin, Anna Teague, Claudia Whitfort, Eden Zanker

Don’t be so harsh on yourself YOU ARE NOT A BOMBERS SUPPORTER - you therefore know more than bugger all

very surprised Mifsud has not been selected. I though she was our best key forward last year. Anyone got any goss? Selected as an emergency so presumably not injured.

It's like the Yeti monster though, difficult to capture on camera....

Smells of nepotism.

Lucky its just training....

Nice article which reinforces Nev's standing as one of my favourite players. Not born with abundant talent, he has reached his present high standing in the competition through high principles, hard work and an unyielding never-say-die, team first attitude. It's great to see him starting to get some of the recognition he deserves in the wider AFL community.

Love Nev. Another key quote from the article: "He is ranked No.1 in the AFL from 2011-2017 for the kick-rating stat, where Champion Data measures how well a player kicks the ball compared to the AFL average taking into account pressure, field position and intent." Wasn't that long ago that people lamented our lack of foot skills, but clearly we are aquiring and importantly developing elite talents in this important area of the game in many parts of the ground. I say developing, because I don't think Jetta would have been viewed this way early in his career. I think it also has something to do with overall team improvement as players now have that bit more time, space and confidence to dispose of the ball better than in the shambles our team was when we were getting smashed. Full credit to Nev though too, because clearly he has really knuckled down and developed his game since being delisted. Also an illistration of great determination and resilience to survive both being delisted and our era of depression.

I'm chucking on a hundred for premiers. Worth a punt

Dom Tyson's foot skills were sharp and polished; A new 3 word analysis of Dom perhaps?

I would have thought after the club's last pizzweak Saturday outing (ie 26 Aug 2017), they would be pretty keen to practice performing on Saturdays wherever possible. The fact that this is a training session in Queensland in February is completely irrelevant. I'm sick of this club do everything it can to upset loyal supporters by holding training sessions, practice matches and other functions during business hours. Without members and supporters, this club is nothing. The powers that be would do well to acknowledge this occasionally.

As a Brisbane-based supporter, very disappointed with this. Not bagging the club as being hopeless or anything, but as others have said, this has been scheduled for the Saturday morning each of the last 3-4 years and been a big success with 300-400 attending and plenty of local media exposure. We drive up every year and my two young boys love it, being one of the highlights of the year. They've been asking me for weeks when it'll be and are now very confused. I appreciate the footy department comes first but scheduling it for Friday instead of the traditional Saturday is actually worse than not having one at all and just claiming the week is a closed one. I see there's plenty of Demonlanders taking the pi$$ and seeing no issue. That's a complete lack of understanding of how successful the Saturday sessions have been in the past and the exposure the Dees have been able to have with young kids , local media and the general footy community up here. Really feels like an own-goal.

Jan 2017 Champion Data: Pies no 1 midfield Dees 18th Grain. Of. Salt.

Apropos Champ Data. Does Collingwood still have the best rated on-ball brigade?

I think they are overrated...but then again I don't trust the champion data stats on things like this.

That's the AFL's fault. Out of the $1bill plus tv rights they've had over the past 10 years they won't allocate money to identify and develop young talent in the non AFL States. They leave it entirely to the teams there even though with the expansion there is more need to find more players. The Swans have spent over $1mill per year on their Academy for about 8-10 years now. They seek out every junior athlete initially in the whole of NSW and since GWS in their allocated areas. They have around 500-600 players a year going through it, that's thousands and thousands of players over the period. Out of that massive investment, so far they have Heeney and Mills. That's it. Brandon Jack was the only other player to make it to the list and he didn't make it. Heeney was a rugby league player in Newcastle who would never have been discovered without the Swans Academy work in finding him. I was involved in Junior AFL in Sydney for over ten years and know how incredibly hard the landscape is up here for AFL. The Swans Academy is a big deal to all the kids up here who aspire to getting picked in it. I've watched its impact on Junior Clubs like ours since it started and its significant. The only way to solve this is for the AFL to set up AFL Academies not Club Academies.

It's closer than Darwin.